


Good Days

by blueconstellation



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Dan's is a blackberry sage one from World Market that no one's ever heard of, Exy, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Matt's favorite tea is orange spice, Multi, Neil Josten Fan Club, Neil is a cute and loving bf
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-30
Updated: 2017-03-30
Packaged: 2018-10-13 02:11:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10504269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueconstellation/pseuds/blueconstellation
Summary: soft dan/matt/neil bc no one else has written it and i was Inspired





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was based on a dream I had after reading [this post.](http://www.korakos.tumblr.com/post/134560490122/alright-i-know-im-going-to-think-about-it-all) from Nora's extra content.

Neil couldn't stop staring at his watch. He had long since tuned out the rest of the class, and now he was just counting down the minutes until he could leave. On a sudden whim, he pulled out his phone and shot off a quick _‘Any plans today?’_ text to Dan and Matt. 

 

It was odd thinking about how used to his phone he was now, considering he loathed the sight of it for the entirety of his first year. Now it was second nature to use it. Neil smirked to himself at the thought. He’d started to let his mind wander to back then when his phone buzzed on the table in front of him and jolted him out of his thoughts. Dan had responded to his text first, with Matt not far behind. Neil picked up his phone and stifled a chuckle at the name on the screen. Matt had named their group conversation ‘NEIL JOSTEN FAN CLUB’ as a joke, but it had inevitably stuck, even with Neil’s original protests. Once it was clear neither of the other two were budging on the name—and since Neil had no idea how to change it himself—he’d dropped it.

 

__**Dan:** aren’t u in class??  
**Matt:** He’s in math.  
**Neil:** Not for long. We get out in 15 minutes.  
**Dan:** so pay attention for those 15 minutes  
**Neil:** We’re not even doing anything. The professor’s just reviewing last week’s lesson.  
**Dan:** ok what did u wanna do later  
**Neil:** I don’t know, I just wanted us all to get together and do something  
**Matt:** Neil, we’re together all the time.  
**Neil:** Outside of the dorms, I mean. Is the court open?  
**Matt:** Yeah and Kevin’s got class today too, so he won’t be babysitting it. Want me to come pick you up after you’re out?  
**Neil:** That would be great.  
**Dan:** I’m down see u guys there 

 

Neil put his phone in his bag and absentmindedly doodled in his notebook for the last leg of class. He didn’t really need the review everyone was going over, since he had more than enough free time to study now that the season’s hectic schedule had mellowed out. If anything, he was farther ahead than the rest of the students.

 

He sat back and halfheartedly listened to the professor drone on, and he was out of his seat the second class was dismissed. Neil saw Matt’s truck right away as he made his way out of the building. It was sitting alongside the edge of a curb, still running. Matt waved at him, and Neil grinned as he opened the door and jumped up into the passenger seat. 

 

“So how was class?” Matt joked as he pulled away from the campus buildings. Neil glared at him and Matt laughed. “At least you didn’t try to pull off six courses again this semester.” 

 

“Shut up.” Matt laughed again and Neil turned to look out the window. Spring at Palmetto was something Neil had come to appreciate. Neil had come to appreciate a lot of things since he met the Foxes. Before them, when he was on the run, he never would have noticed how colorful everything was. Palmetto was very well-adorned with trees and flowers, so it wasn’t a very easy thing to miss anymore. He never would’ve noticed how “the sky is the same color as your eyes, Neil”, as Matt put it. Watching the seasons change from the same place was still weird to him; in the past it had meant that he’d stayed too long, and that he needed to move on. Now, he found solace in it. It reminded him that he was safe with his family, and that he was allowed to relax. It reminded him that he was happy. And that was better than anything else.

 

It was still spring, but it was getting close enough to summer that it was noticeably hot out. Matt’s truck was noticeably hotter, so Neil was glad the drive to the court was short.

 

When Matt pulled into the stadium parking lot, Dan was already outside waiting for them. She greeted them with a huge grin, and threaded her fingers through Matt’s when he and Neil caught up to her. Dan and Matt knew that Neil wasn't always comfortable with touch and intimacy like they were, so they always waited for him to initiate it. He did, wrapping his hand around Matt's free one, and the other two smiled at him. As time passed, Neil became more well-adjusted to their group dynamic. There would still be bad days here and there, where Neil isolated himself completely, but you could tell that they were happy.

 

Neil stepped ahead of them and typed that week's code into the stadium door’s keypad, then pulled it open to let the others in first. How Wymack managed to create a new, meaningful combination each week still baffled them all. They made their way through the hall and into the locker rooms, where they took their time changing out. Neil was grateful for days like this, with no Kevin breathing down his neck telling him to go faster, faster, faster. Over time, their friendship had gotten stronger, but Kevin still seemed to forget that word the second they stepped onto the court. Dan and Matt were ruthless when they wanted to be, but they knew how to have fun at least.

 

They met back in the lounge when they were all in their gear. Matt stayed behind to get a bucket of balls while Neil and Dan went ahead to grab their rackets. They all gathered in the inner ring and started a warm up lap. 

 

"What kind of drill do you wanna run today?" Matt asked about halfway through.

 

"How about a scrimmage? Dan and me against you." Neil responded.

 

"Oh, come on, two against one isn't fair," Matt complained, even though he was smirking at the challenge. "Even if you both are half my size."

 

"What? Afraid you can't hold out?" Dan retorted as she picked up her pace and veered through the open court door.

 

"I didn't say _that_." Matt and Neil followed her to the middle of the court with the rackets and balls and set them down at half-court. 

 

"I think that's exactly what you were saying. You're supposed to be the best backliner on the team, and you're too scared to even go against your own teammates?" 

 

"Don't worry, Matt, we'll go easy on you," Neil chimed in as he picked up his racket and swung it up behind his neck. 

 

"Oh, you're on, Josten," Matt laughed as he did the same. Dan followed suit and the three of them spread out across the court. 

 

Dan served the ball at Neil and he sent it flying towards Matt with a loud _whoosh_ as air whistled through the net of his racket, which was echoed when Matt made a pass of his own with ease. They continued like this for some time, all three of them making exceedingly difficult passes to try and undermine the others until Neil finally caught a rebound and threw it back so fast Matt didn't have enough time to get to the ball before the goal lit up red. Dan gave a loud whoop and settled back into position as Matt sent the ball right back up the court. Matt was a wall for the rest of the game though, and Neil and Dan didn't get another ball past him, much to their frustration. After about an hour, they called it quits and walked off court to go shower and change out. 

 

As Neil was walking over to put their rackets back in the cage, Dan jogged to catch up with him and smacked his ass. Neil whipped his head around and caught her running into the girls’ locker room with a glint in her eye. He rolled his eyes and locked the equipment cabinet before heading off to the shower himself.

 

Matt was already in one of the stalls and stuck his head out the door to smile at Neil before darting back in to finish. Neil smiled to himself and shook his head at how fast these two had wormed their ways into his life. He fondly remembered how supportive they had been when he first arrived at Palmetto, ridden with secrets and scars. How easily they had accepted him and made him feel worth something. They hadn't run away or even flinched when his past was revealed, nor when he had later told them the details. They had taken it with grace and never once made him feel wrong about it. It was simply a part of who he was, and they loved all of him. Neil didn’t have to hide anymore. 

 

He must have been standing there for some time, because when he looked up Matt was standing in front of him, searching his face. 

 

“You good, Neil?” he asked slowly. Neil snapped to attention as Matt’s quiet voice broke his focus. Matt’s brow was furrowed, but his gaze softened when he and Neil locked eyes. Neil, still overcome with emotion, leaned up and pressed a quick kiss to Matt’s lips. 

 

Matt chuckled and kissed the top of Neil’s head before walking to his locker to get dressed. “Love you, too.”

 

Neil was struck again by how lucky he was, and stood there for a second more before hurrying over to the showers. When he got out, Matt was gone, and Neil quickly changed and went to meet them out in the lounge. 

 

Matt and Dan were cuddled together on one of the couches, Dan’s head in Matt’s lap and an earbud in each of their ears. Neil smiled to himself at the sight and bypassed them in favor of the small kitchenette. He grabbed two cups and put Matt and Dan’s respective favorite teas in them while he waited for the water to heat up on the hot plate plugged in. When it was done, he used careful strides to carry the the steaming cups over to the others, who looked up with surprised eyes. 

 

Dan sat up and re-positioned herself so she was leaning against Matt’s shoulder as she took her cup from Neil. At the first sip, she gave him a knowing look paired with a smirk. “Do you just keep our favorite teas handy or what?” she asked, and took another sip. Neil smiled sheepishly and sat on the other side of Dan, who promptly moved her feet up into his lap. She leaned forward and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, then laid back against Matt. 

 

Matt wrapped his arm around her and splayed his hand across her stomach. He looked up at Neil and flashed him a quick grin. “Good day?”

 

“Yeah. Good day.”


End file.
